I am asking God, as much as is permissible, to give me a greater concept of His Throne Room.
I’m thinking about prayer and one verse keeps sounding in my mind. The immortal God dwells in light (1 Timothy 6:16) which we dare not approach. What is that dangerous light? It is the blinding light of God’s holiness against which we could not survive.
I am not thinking of prayer as our 24/7 relationship and conversation with God, which is (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to pray without ceasing, I’m honing in on our specific prayer time when we bring our list of requests to the magnificent Throne of Sovereign Majesty. It is not a time to rush in and spiel off a bunch of needs. Personally, I’m coming to believe ‘that prayer’ is not effective and (James 5:16) avails little or nothing – UNLESS – it begins with godly fear, reverential awe and continuing wonder – even as we exult in God’s Presence and love. Are we ever lost in wonder, love and praise? Where is that Throne and how do we get there?
The time machine can take us back thousands of years to when God gave Moses (Exodus 26) the plans for the Tabernacle. My present focus is on the Holy of Holies. It did not contain much furniture and it was all man-made in full accordance with the Lord’s commandments. There was the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10) with the cherubim (formed from gold) overshadowing the mercy seat (Exodus 25:20). The cherubim represent God’s glory and the mercy seat was the lid of the Ark. Remove the lid and the death-dealing Law was exposed. When the Law came (Romans 7:9) sin revived and I died. In the Holy of Holies there was also the table of the bread of the Presence and the altar of incense.
Now let’s make some comparisons:
Back then – Moses, Aaron and his sons and 70 elders were called up to the mountain (Exodus 24:10) and they saw at that one time, a clear manifestation of God’s Presence and under His feet pavement like sapphire stones.
Now, we have the Lord’s promise and written guarantee (Hebrews 13:5) that He will never leave us but will abide with us forever.
Back then – just once yearly (Leviticus 23:27) (Hebrews 9:7) on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make an atonement (Exodus 30:10) for the collective sins of the people. It was a matter of life and death to give strict obedience to the commands of God. Even down to what the priest wore – every detail was fraught with danger. Every detail mattered – don’t come at all times (Leviticus 16:2) lest you die. Did any of the priestly sons ever die by not obeying God’s commands? Yes, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2) and they were devoured by the fire that went out from the Lord. Godly fear fell on all the priests.
How did the waiting congregation know if the high priest was O.K. when he was behind the veil in the Holy of Holies? On the hem of the high priest’s robe, there was a golden bell (Exodus 28:33-34) between every adorning pomegranate. As the high priest performed his duties they could hear the tinkling bells. If suddenly they could not hear the bells, what would that ominous silence mean?
The sacrifice was not acceptable to God and the high priest was dead!
We are clothed (2 Corinthians 5:21) with Christ’s righteousness and that was back then but now – we are to come often and without fear into the true heavenly Holy of Holies (Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 10:19-20) and the Throne of grace so that we might live with no fear of death.
Back then – they had the bread of the Presence – a representation.
But now – we have (John 6:35) the hunger-quenching Bread of Life – incarnate Deity indwelling us.
Back then – they had the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1,40:5) and holy oil.
But now – we don’t have oil on us, we have God the Holy Spirit Who seals and indwells us. Also we are assured that (Revelation 8:3-4) an angel adds incense to the rising prayers of the saints.
There is a lot here to digest even in the little I’ve mentioned but I want to mention one other – BACK THEN pattern.
Lots would be cast over 2 goats and one would be the burnt offering for sin and other would be (Leviticus 8:10,22) the scapegoat and he shall bear away the sins as he goes into the wilderness.
Does that remind you of something which is eternally vital to us? He shall (Isaiah 53:11) bear the sins. Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:29) Who takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus entered NOT the man-made Holy of Holies, but by His own once-forever sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:24-26) and His own Blood,
He entered the true Holy of Holies in Heaven itself in the Presence of God. On the basis of His all-encompassing Atonement and His victorious Resurrection, the GOD-MAN, our Saviour, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:8) gave us gifts. Do we realize that those gifts include the high privilege of prayer and the priceless riches of access to the Holy of Holies – the Throne Room – the Prayer Room?
Again, my earlier question - - where is the Throne Room? It is not on earth and it is not in time. We already know (Hebrews 9:24) that Jesus went to the Holy of Holies in heaven. We also know (Isaiah 57:15) thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, Whose Name is Holy – I dwell in the high and lofty place. So we know that the Throne Room is in heaven and that is in eternity.
To my next question - - how do we get to God’s Throne Room – the Prayer Room? This is what I think - - see if you agree. If our prayers are careless, casual, hurried – I don’t think they make it. We are to (1 Chronicles 16:29) worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. What does that mean? If our intercession begins with holy fear, reverential wonder and adoring worship – an angel will be on hand to add incense. A wonderful fragrance rises to our loving God on His Throne – the gates of the Holy of Holies swing open – and we are welcomed in and enveloped with love. Then effective, availing prayer begins as we see prayer not in the concept of earth and time, but with the eternal concept from God’s standpoint – God’s viewpoint.
Because God is not bound or hindered by time or distance, neither are our prayers. Doesn’t that add a whole new thrilling aspect to our prayers and the time we spend with the Lord in the Throne Room?
I am asking God, as much as is permissible, to give me a greater concept of His Throne Room.
Because God raised us up (Ephesians 2:6) and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus – we can have increasing joy as we use (Ephesians 1:3) our spiritual blessings in heavenly places - - - for God’s glory in people and places on earth.